If the global economic downturn had any positive effects, it would be on the business visual communications and collaboration market.

 

As businesses scaled down their capital expenses, there’s been more attention on communications technology, such as desktop videotelephony, group videoconferencing and telepresence. Those service not only help companies save on the high costs of travel, but also help employees be more productive.

 

The growing demand for telepresence and HD videoconferencing products will be the focus of  discussion during Frost & Sullivan's (News - Alert) analyst briefing on the visual collaboration market on Feb. 10 at 10 a.m. Experts will review the latest industry changes focusing on telepresence and the growing demand for managed visual collaboration services.

 

Beyond traditional the benefits that conference calls offer, such as instantaneous meetings, video conferencing gives users the ability to have face-to-face meetings without the need to be in the same office, officials from Eagle Conferencing, a Manhattan- and Bangalore-based provider of full-service conferencing services provider, said.

 

“The visual element is the final piece of the unified communications jigsaw puzzle,” Dominic Dodd, principal analyst and member of Frost & Sullivan's global team of unified communications specialists, said. “The acquisition of Tandberg by Cisco (News - Alert) will trigger frantic activity among the key UC players, all eager to secure the vital video capability within their own product and service portfolios.”

 

Whether based in the network, on the desktop, or in an organization's equipment room, the solutions vendors and service providers want to create have increased in capability, Frost and Sullivan said. And video has been a part of that jigsaw for a number of years.

 

Virtual meetings help eliminate the number of corporate employees that need to travel to meetings and cut carbon emissions and the use of fossil fuels, Eagle Conferencing said.

 

Eagle Conferencing, a subsidiary of EagleNet companies, provides facility-based teleconferencing services as well as videoconferencing services. With a capacity of more than 10 billion minutes annually, the company connects groups and individuals any time, and anywhere.